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Xivonaki
Background Xivonaki is a synthetic created around 107 BC by the inhabitants of Ixania as a form of unified communication before their bloody 700-year war known as the Seven Centuries' War. It was originially intended to included bits of the two groups Celtic and Hausa languages, but grew to became a very unique form of speech. Emphasizes on the sounds created by x, v, a, z, n, and i became the basis of the language, and from these letters (with the exception of v and z), the name "Ixania" originated. Xivonaki was enforced as the new language of the two kingdoms on the main island of Ixania under pain of death. The inhabitants quickly picked up the language, though there were many issues speaking it as few knew how to work the speech (largely on the Hausa side), though fear of torture moved many to learn it out of purely self-preservation. The language managed to remain unified with little variation in speech patterns throughout the Seven Centuries' War, and even managed to grow and spread new words that one side of the island had not known. Given the Ixanians hostile and sadistic nature, and the ban on Ixanian citizens travelling to other countries, the language is rarely found outside of Ixania, with the rare exception of lingustics hired by national governments seeking to translate the language for spying purposes do to lack of exposure to it. The Ixanian language is spoken by some 152 million people worldwide, most of these speakers originating from the home islands. Phonology Consonants Vowels Allophony Diphthongs Xivonaki allows for the combination of two vowels of differing sounds, albeit to a limited degree. As a result of this rule, Xivonaki has extrodinarily few diphithongs compared to other languages, with only four of which are legally allowed in line with the rules on vowels in the language. Alphabet The modern Xivonaki alphabet contains 16 letters. Since Xivonaki can be written in the Latin alphabet, it contains uppercase and lowercase letters. When writting Xivonaki calligraphy, there is no distinction between the two cases. Phonotactics Xivonaki syllables are structured as follows: In Xivonaki, a word must begin with either a vowel and a consonant, or a consonant and a vowel. It is illegal for a word in Xivonaki to begin with two of the same vowels anywhere in a word, either at the beginning, middle, or the end. Two vowels of differing sounds may border each other in the same word, but they themselves must bordered by at least one consonent. Stand-alone vowels bordering each other are illegal unless they are different from each other or single. Two consonants, however, may border each anywhere in a word with the execption of the beginning, where the same vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel rule remains the same. Most Xivonaki words typically follow the (C')+('V)+(C')/('V)+(C')+('V) structure, as is evidenced by many of the words seen in the language. Another fact is that most Xivonaki words end with a vowel bordered by a preceding consonant, or a consonant bordered by a preceding vowel. Nowhere is it allowed for a vowel to end a word by itself without being bordered by a different vowel, as aforementioned, though a consonant may do use when bordered by a preceding consonant, albeit rarely so. The best example to explain this rule is with the word Mississippi, which would be considered a legal word in Xivonaki. It follows the rule of consonant+vowel+consonant+optional consonant in Xivonaki. Syllables Xivonaki only allows for short words of three or four syllables max for common words, and five to six for longer ones. The largest words are typically between seven and eight syllables in total. Such words like these are uncommon, and often found only in the names of Ixanian citizens and the imperial names of the Ixanian tazens. The emphasis on short words comes from the need to quickly communicate ideas and thoughts, a product of the numerous wars of its speakers. Stress Stress in Xivonaki is absolutely regular, with stress falling on the last syllable in word regardless of syllable weight. This comes a result of the relative lack of Ixanian words surpassing three syllables in length. In most cases, stress is not required in a word with a single syllable, such as the words xi and ix. Grammar Vocabulary Example text Category:Languages